Fortune favours the Bold
by notbrenda
Summary: Malcolm Graves is left distraught following a messy break-up, and only after fighting many battles on the Fields of Justice with a fiery red-head does Graves finally realise that he was looking for the right girl in all the wrong places, and that she was far closer to home than he thought. Rated T for adult language and mature-ish themes
1. Chapter 1

Malcolm sat alone in his small, wooden row boat. It had been hours since Nami had left him, yet he still couldn't believe it. She had left him. He watched the sun set, alone, pinks and oranges splashed over Bilgewater. The water had also splashes of pink rippling on the surface. He still couldn't believe she had done it. They had been together for almost two years. Graves thought she was the one. But she clearly hadn't thought that about him, otherwise, she wouldn't have broken his heart.

 _Graves had been planning his date with Nami for the past week. He was so excited to see her. She had been away for almost a month, fighting in battles for the League. She had called him last night to make sure he was still going to meet her at the docks._

 _"Of course I am babe!" he cried. "I haven't seen you in almost a month!"_

 _Graves could barely hide the excitement in his voice. He couldn't wait to see his girlfriend. He packed a basket with a bottle of some fancy alcohol he had bought the day before; he had no idea what it was, but it was expensive, so it had to be decent. He put two glasses in the basket as well, along with some strawberries; they were Nami's favourite._

 _Graves left his rife at home; he didn't need it. No one was going to try and attack him. He practically ran to the docks, where the ship was. He saw Nami standing on the deck, and waved at her, a wide grin spreading across his lips. Nami saw him and waved back, but she didn't seem as enthusiastic as Graves. He didn't seem to notice; mostly because he was itching to talk to Nami and see her for the first time in what felt like forever._

 _The ship docked, and a sea of passengers started to leave the deck. Nami waited for them to get off before she jumped over the side and splashed into the water. Graves walked over to her and smiled._

 _"Hey you," he said. "How you been?" He was eager to get out onto the water to spend time with her._

 _"Hey," Nami replied. She smiled at him, but it wasn't the bright, happy smile that Graves had fallen in love with. This smile was sad, as if she had something big on her mind; like a bad thought that won't go away._

 _Graves motioned her to follow him to the smaller docks, where the fishermen left their rowboats. Graves jumped into one, and pushed it away from the dock. He saw Nami swim up beside him. She pushed herself out of the water, and hoisted herself up onto the side of the small boat, though still staying in the water. She moved to the back of the boat, and pressed her hands to the sides, before she started swimming. She pushed the tiny boat out into the middle of the harbour and out to sea. She stopped the boat before she moved round to the side again. She crossed her arms on the side and rested her head on them. She looked at Graves, and her big, yellow eyes met his brown ones. They looked sad, and Graves was confused. Why was she feeling sad? She had just got back; she was here, with him. Surely that would make her happy?_

 _"Nami, what's wrong?" Graves asked. He was concerned. She hadn't acted like this around him before._

 _Nami tore her eyes away from his and looked away. Graves was really concerned now. He moved forwards and lifted up Nami's chin with his finger._

 _"Nami..?"_

 _"Malcolm... I can't do this anymore. We're not working," she said. Graves was shocked. "It's just, you know, my job, and I'm away for such long periods at a time now, and I barely have any time to see my old friends and my family. You know how it is, Malcolm. I just can't do this anymore."_

 _Graves was taken aback. He was so shocked. His mouth kept opening and closing; he looked like a fish. He couldn't think of anything to say._

 _"And, there's something else, too," Nami continued. "I-I've met someone else."_

 _Nami was looking at the floor of the boat now, completely avoiding Graves' eyes. She sniffed and he knew she was crying. Graves' own eyes welled up at the sudden thought of being alone. He refused to shed his tears, and blinked them away._

 _"Nami, what are you talking about? What do you mean you've met someone else? When did this happen?" Graves fired his questions at her. "I don't understand."_

 _"It just happened, Malcolm! It's not like I just decided I wanted to look his way! It's not like I thought 'hmm that guy over there is really good looking, I think I'll just go over to him and probably fuck him as well'!" Nami yelled. Graves had never seen her so angry before. She continued yelling at him, telling him how it was an accident that they met, and that they had done so many battles together. She was calming down now; her face was no longer twisted in an angry scowl. "I just…I didn't want to hurt you. I just thought I should tell you the truth."_

 _Graves was flabbergasted. He still didn't understand. If she loved him, why would she have started seeing someone else? Unless she had never really loved him at all. He sat in the boat, while Nami waited for a response, but none came._

 _"I'm sorry, Malcolm," she whispered. She swam over to him and kissed his cheek before diving into the water and disappearing._

Graves was left to sit on his own, in the fading light of day. He went to take another swig of the alcohol he had bought and found that there was almost none left; he had drank the bottle on his own. He yelled as he threw it into the water, tears in his eyes. He had eaten some of the strawberries, but had ended up throwing them to the fish. He began to row himself back to the shore, but the pain of Nami leaving him was still strong in his limbs, and he rowed very slowly.

Graves got back to the docks, and didn't even bother tying up his boat. He took his basket and headed back to his house. He walked up to his big, heavy wooden door, and pushed it open. In his excitement he had forgotten to lock it, but nothing had been stolen, which was unusual. Graves walked into his living room. He didn't even turn to look at the adjoining kitchen and threw the basket over the island counter-top. It landed in the sink, on top of all his dirty dishes. They hit each other, and Graves knew that at least one had been broken. He sighed.

Graves walked into his bedroom and threw his clothes off and onto the floor. He grabbed a pair of shorts and an old tshirt from his chest of drawers and pulled them on. He crawled into his king-sized bed and grabbed one of his pillows. He curled up as small as he could get, cuddling the pillow. He held part of it between his legs and squeezed the top part.

Graves finally allowed his tears to shed, falling on to the pillow he held in is arms. The pain of his breakup washed over him. He tried to hold in his sobs, which made him tremble. He let his sobs leave his body, and he shook with each heaving breath. When his eyes had run dry and he stopped sobbing was when Graves finally felt fatigue and sleep wash over him, and he succumbed to both, letting the day fade from his mind, along with all the bad feelings he had felt.


	2. Chapter 2

**_Fortune favours the Bold – chapter 2_**

Graves woke up the next day feeling like shit. He went through to the living room and plonked himself down in front of the television. He felt around for the remote, and found that he had left it on the coffee table. Graves sat staring at the remote, feeling no motivation to get up and reach for it. It was too far away for him to even consider. He sat there, on the large, leather sofa, defeated. His breakup had left him far more upset than he had thought. Of course, he was upset, there was no doubt in his mind that he was, but the fact that he couldn't even be bothered to reach for his TV remote was something else.

Hell, he couldn't even be bothered to get up and make himself a cup of coffee, so Graves sat there, in the silence, his deep breaths being the only sound, staring at the blank TV. The town outside started to wake up, and Graves heard the townsfolk outside his window bustling with life, out doing their morning commute or going out grocery shopping at the market.

Graves finally got the energy to pick up his remote. He grabbed it off the coffee table, and slumped back into his seat. He turned the TV on and started flicking through all the channels, but there was nothing on. Graves groaned and threw the remote to the other side of the sofa, with a rather half-assed flick of his wrist. He decided that he should get up and sort out the mess he had made the day before. He made his way over to the kitchen, his eyes still filled with the grogginess of sleep. He fumbled around with the basket he had thrown, and began emptying his wash basin. Graves picked out each plate, mug and glass carefully. He knew he had broken something but he had no idea what it was that he had broken. He gingerly felt around the basin. He felt a sharp pain in the side of his hand, and withdrew it. There was a deep cut in his hand.

"Shit," Graves whispered. He started grumbling as he looked around for a bandage. He held his hand under the tap, letting the cool water run over the cut. The water turned from red, to pink, to clear, but Graves still hadn't found anything. Out of frustration, he grabbed a dishcloth from the side and ripped it in half. He threw half of it onto the counter, and used the other half to bind the cut on his hand. It was deep, and would take a while to heal, but Graves didn't care.

He started to make his way back to the sofa to spend the day watching movies, but he froze in his tracks. A blue light came down from the ceiling and surrounded him. Graves knew exactly what it was, so didn't complain, although he would have rather not fought in battle today. Graves was teleported to the League headquarters. He had some time to change into his clothes and get himself ready before the match started. He noticed his gun had also been teleported, which was handy, because he hated to use the spare ones the Institute had made for him. They were to go with each of his different skins. Whilst they were good guns, they weren't quite the same as his. They were all built exactly the same as his, but felt unfamiliar in his hands, and only ever used them when he really needed to, but few summoners ever used his skins, so Graves rarely had to use them. Graves walked into the teleportation room, and saw his other teammates already standing on teleportation pads.

Graves was glad to see the Sheriff of Piltover on his team. They were good friends and fought well in battle together. He also saw that Miss Fortune was on his team. She was kneeling next to Caitlyn, both were deep in conversation. As Graves entered the room, they both looked at him. Caitlyn smiled. He was sure he saw Miss Fortune's lips curve into a small smile, but didn't think about it too much. He nodded at them both before striding over to the empty platform next to Miss Fortune. He stepped up onto it and leant on his gun. He saw that Twisted Fate was on the team as well. Graves threw him a scowl and leaned over to Miss Fortune.

"Hey, Fortune, where's the fifth?" he asked her.

She stopped her conversation with Caitlyn and turned to him.

"It's Teemo," she told him. "He's just invisible right now because we aren't doing anything."

"Oh."

Graves had never been in battle with Teemo before. He didn't know any of his abilities.

"So how come he's invisible?" Graves felt a little silly asking these questions about the yordle, but he was curious.

"It's his passive," Fortune explained. She turned so she was facing him instead of Caitlyn. "See when he doesn't move, he goes into stealth and becomes invisible, so then when he comes out of stealth, he gets extra movement speed."

"That's quite interesting. He sounds like a good champion."

"He's good, but you don't want him on the enemy team," Fortune said. "He's such a shit."

Teemo seemed to have heard Miss Fortune's comment, and started towards her because he immediately came into view. He wore an angry scowl on his face.

"Just because you can't run like me, Fortune," the Scout scoffed. He had taken out his blowpipe and started fiddling around with it.

In the blink of an eye, Miss Fortune was had strode over to Teemo's platform, whipped out one of her pistols, and had it pointing directly between Teemo's small eyes. Teemo was surprised, and sat on his platform, hugging his blowpipe. His eyes were wide with fear, though Graves suspected that he knew Miss Fortune wouldn't really shoot him. Miss Fortune grabbed the blowpipe from the Scout and threw it across the room. It landed at Graves' feet. He picked it up and held onto it.

"Sorry, what was that you were saying?" she growled. Teemo was trembling. "Something about…" Miss Fortune leaned in closer to the yordle. "…running?"

"N-Nothing…" Teemo whispered. He looked Miss Fortune dead in the eye. She didn't blink.

"Sarah, come on. We can't start unless you're on your platform. Leave the poor yordle alone, he's only playing," Caitlyn coaxed Miss Fortune back over to her platform.

"Hmph." Miss Fortune withdrew her pistol and put it back in its holster. She walked back over to her platform, and took her place; though this time she sat cross-legged and started polishing her pistols.

Graves tossed Teemo his blowpipe back to him. Teemo picked it up and hugged it tightly against his chest. Graves looked over at Miss Fortune, who was staring at Teemo. She looked so much different when she was angry. Graves had seen her fight in battle many times before, but she had never been this rage-fuelled. Graves hadn't ever see or fought with her in this mood but he wasn't stupid enough to think that it was a one-time thing.

Eventually, the claxon sounded and blue light began to swirl around each champion. Graves saw everyone stand up straight and followed suit, except Miss Fortune, who was still sitting on the platform with her pistol. Graves saw Caitlyn look down at her and shake her head. He got the impression that Miss Fortune did whatever she pleased when it suited her.

Graves felt the familiar feeling of being transported to Summoner's Rift. He landed on the starting platform at the blue base. He always liked being on the blue side; the minions seemed more friendly.

Graves bought a few health potions and a ward, and set off down to the bottom lane. He saw Teemo heading off into the jungle, Twisted Fate running to mid lane and Caitlyn and Miss Fortune going up top. He was a little disappointed that he had been left on his own, but he could take whoever he was up against.

He heard the familiar booming voice that told everyone that the minions had spawned. Graves waited for them to come to his lane, before he started attacking the enemy minions. Soon after, the champions entered Graves' sight – it was Jinx and Draven. Graves knew that Draven was quite strong, but this early in a fight everyone is quite weak. Graves started firing shots and abilities at the oncoming champions. Jinx was shooting her with her mini-gun, and Draven was trying to hit him with his axes, but he missed almost every time. Graves managed to eliminate Draven before he focused his aim on Jinx. He fired a few shots at her before she retreated. Graves was quite pleased with himself and ran for the turret. He hadn't noticed the amount of ally minion build up, and knew he could easily get the turret. Although he got it down quite low, the enemy minions had taken out his own, and Draven had returned, ready for a second round.

Graves got his health quite low, but was unable to get the kill, because Jinx had stopped him from getting close to Draven, by hitting him with her slow ability. While she had him slowed, she was able to get a few good shots at Graves, which brought his health down far too low for him to keep fighting. He was finally able to move, and was heading back towards the safety of his turrets when he was shot down by Ashe, who had got a good shot on him from the bushes. Graves felt his life leave him, and his limp body fell to the ground.

It was only a few seconds before he respawned, but he knew that if he left his lane empty for too long, the enemy team would take out his turret. Graves bought some more items from the store and headed back down to the bottom lane. He got to the second turret, and saw that Jinx and Draven had gotten cocky whilst Graves was away. Both health bars were past half at least. Graves threw his smoke grenade at them; they clearly hadn't been paying attention because he managed to catch them by surprise. He fired his gun at them, bringing Jinx's health way down. He used Ignite on her and let it finish her off. Draven had managed to run away but Graves caught up with him, but it was Graves whose health was compromised this time. Draven had hit him hard. Graves knew he would have to go back to spawn, so he turned to run, but Ashe was in the way. He fired a few shots at her, causing her to turn and run too, but Graves was more concerned about Draven catching up.

Graves ploughed through his lane, desperately trying to reach his turret. He felt each hit of Draven's axe in his back, and thought he would die again. The turret was in his sight and he ran as fast as he could to it. He managed to get past it just before Draven tried to hit him again. Graves stopped to catch his breath, and turned to see Draven in a fit of rage. Graves grinned and flipped him the bird. He chuckled to himself as he heard Draven scream with rage. He saw Draven run towards him, and Graves ran. He heard Draven's heaving breaths getting closer, until he heard a loud gunshot coming from his right and spun round.

Graves saw Draven, stopped in the middle of his tracks. He wore a look of shock on his face. Graves looked at his chest and saw that it had been blasted. The skin was fried near the edges and blood was falling out of the wound like a red waterfall. Draven looked down at the hole in his chest before his eyes rolled into the back of his head, and he fell to the ground. Graves looked around for the person who had helped him. He saw a flash of purple in the jungle, before the figure stepped out into the lane. Caitlyn tipped her hat at him and smiled.

"Thanks," said Graves. Caitlyn shook her head, her hair bouncing around her shoulders.

"It's no problem. Besides-"

Caitlyn was cut off. Jinx had appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, and attacked Caitlyn. Caitlyn was knocked to the ground. Graves helped her up and she immediately started to oppress Jinx's fire. Graves didn't see Jinx adjust her focus so that it was on him, but Caitlyn did and pushed him to the ground. She kept shooting Jinx, firing all her abilities at her, but she was injured badly. She had managed to get Jinx's health down low, and Graves took the chance to take her out. He got her right between the shoulder blades, and watched as Jinx fell to the ground, her pigtails forming a heart above her head where her stiff body lay.

"Go back and heal Cait," said Graves, putting a hand on Caitlyn's shoulder. Caitlyn nodded and ran to the brush, where Graves saw a flash of blue light, and then she was gone. Graves smiled and started on the minion build up. He took out most of them, and let the ally minions do the rest. He stood watching the minions fight each other – it was quite funny to him, though he didn't know why. Maybe it was because they were so small, and watching creatures so tiny fight each other was like small children play fighting.

Graves eventually got bored and headed into the jungle for a buff. He came across an Ancient Golem and began to attack it. He managed to get the buff and was heading back to his lane, when he found that his feet were almost glued to the ground beneath him. Graves tried to run, but his feet wouldn't move. He looked around and saw he was trapped in a hollow column of arcane magic. He turned his head and saw Lux running towards him. She had him trapped. Graves' health was incredibly low; lower than he'd have liked. He found himself to be free and started bombarding Lux with abilities. He managed to slow her long enough for him to take a few health potions, but it wasn't enough to keep his health above half. Lux pursued him through the jungle, slowing him and pinning him down. Graves' health dramatically decreased, despite his efforts to keep it up. He fired shots at Lux, but the armour she wore was too strong for him. He stopped firing his abilities and attacking Lux, and instead focused on getting out of his situation when Lux stopped firing abilities at him. Graves turned to see what was happening, and saw that a shower of bullets was falling on her head.

Graves stood and watched as Miss Fortune stepped out of the brush and started laying it on Lux. She got a clean shot through Lux's stomach, which sent Lux stumbling backwards, dropping her wand in the process. Miss Fortune saw her window, and fired three more shots into Lux. Lux had fallen on the ground now, and was able to pick up her wand. She grabbed it and cast her binding spell on Miss Fortune and turned to run away, but she was slow, and her ability didn't last very long, because Graves saw Miss Fortune break out of her arcane prison ad run after Lux, slowly catching up to her. She stopped abruptly, and positioned herself. She pulled her guns out from their holsters, and lined them up. She had one eye closed, aiming perfectly at Lux's back. Graves stepped closer to Miss Fortune, as he wanted to see what she was going to do.

He tip-toed up to her right side and stopped a few feet from where she stood, aiming and lining up her shot.

Miss Fortune turned back towards Graves and smirked before turning back to Lux and let loose, and bombarding Lux with bullets. Graves didn't see Lux, rather he saw her body slammed with bullets. They hit her in the back of her body, each bullet finding a place to throw itself into, Lux's body shaking with each hit.

The wave of bullets stopped, and Miss Fortune fired one last shot at Lux, hitting her right in the back of her head, spraying blood and brains all over the jungle path. Lux's body stood for a second before it crumpled to the ground, blood oozing from each bullet wound.

Graves turned his head, in shock, to Miss Fortune. She blew smoke away from one of her guns, most likely the one that had destroyed Lux's head, while Graves stared at her open mouthed. He couldn't think of anything to say. Miss Fortune was staring at him. She had pulled a piece of bubblegum from her pocket, and popped it into her mouth. She chewed on it as she looked at him, in a confused but a sort of _"what-else-did-you-expect"_ way. She blew a bubble, before she placed her guns back into their holsters.

"What?" she asked, shrugging her shoulders. Graves was still speechless, and just stared at her.

"Haven't you ever seen that before?" She was irritated he knew, but he couldn't say anything. He was in utter shock. Miss Fortune scoffed, before walking off, deeper into the jungle. Graves was left standing on his own. He shook his head and brought himself back to reality. He ran after Miss Fortune and grabbed her arm. He spun her round to look at him.

"What in the flying fuck was that?"

"Those are just my abilities, Malcolm, what else did you expect?!" she looked into his eyes, but hers were scrunched up into an angry look, her eyebrows knitted together.

"Anyways," she said, softening her gaze. "I was just trying to help you." She pulled her arm out of his grip and turned to walk away. She turned her head slightly, though not enough to look at him. "Most people would have just said thanks."

She turned back to face forwards, and ran off. Graves was awestruck – what just happened? He was so confused. He noticed that he had a lot of gold in his pocket, so he recalled back to spawn and bought a few more health potions and a pair of boots. By now, the middle lane was turret free, and his team were attacking the purple Inhibitor.

Graves ran up the middle lane to his team. They had already destroyed the Inhibitor, and were attacking the Nexus turrets. He saw Twisted Fate throwing cards in all directions, hitting Lux, Draven and Jinx. Graves couldn't see Teemo, but he knew that the yordle would be around somewhere, and his suspicions were confirmed when he heard a loud bang, and saw that Ashe had stood on one of Teemo's mushrooms, and had been covered in purple and green gloop. He saw her try to run back to her spawn, but failed as Teemo blew darts from his pipe, slowing her and slowly poisoning her, until her body couldn't handle it, and gave in to the poison. Graves chuckled, because she was only a few steps away from her spawn platform before she died.

Graves turned back and helped his team with the turrets, firing shots at any enemy champions who tried to stop them. It didn't take long for his team to get both the turrets, and it took even less time for them to destroy the Nexus.

Graves heard the familiar boom of the commentator, announcing to everyone that they blue team had won. He looked around at his teammates before he felt the familiar rush of being teleported. He closed his eyes and let the feeling surround him before he was thrown back on his feet in Bilgewater.

He turned to the harbour, and saw the sun set, splashing pink all over the sky. He smiled. It looked beautiful. Graves headed home, after admiring the sun set for a while. Though he was tired, he felt like having a drink, and so changed his course towards the bar. He turned the corner, and bumped into Miss Fortune and Caitlyn.

"Oh, sorry!"

"Sorry."

Graves and Miss Fortune apologised to each other simultaneously. They looked at each other for a moment, awkwardly. Graves shuffled his feet and looked at the ground, while Miss Fortune stared past him, playing with a lock of her red hair.

"Uh… Sarah…" Graves started. Miss Fortune snapped back into reality and looked at Graves, her eyes were wide.

"Yeah," she said softly.

"I, uh, I just, um," Graves stammered. He didn't understand why he couldn't get his words out. "I just wanted to-to thank you, you know, for, uh, for today."

Graves looked at the ground, his cheeks flushed red. He was embarrassed by the encounter and wanted it over with quickly.

"Oh, don't worry about it, Malcolm," Miss Fortune replied with a smile. "Besides, you would've done the same thing for me."

Graves looked up at her then. The gentle breeze had blown her hair away from her face, and he looked into her big green eyes. He hadn't noticed how green they were before, and he was dazzled. They were like two emeralds. He felt his cheeks warm, and shook his head. Miss Fortune looked at him for a bit longer, and opened her mouth to say something - Graves heard her intake of breath - but she didn't say anything, and stood in front of Graves, looking into his eyes. The three stood there, quite awkwardly, before Miss Fortune spoke up.

"So I'll see you around, Malcolm," she said. She smiled at Graves before turning to Caitlyn and motioned for her to follow her. The two squeezed past Graves and continued down the alley. Graves was still quite embarrassed about what had just happened, but he didn't let it bother him too much – there wasn't anything he could do about it now.

He headed down the alley towards the bar. He walked through the door into a crowd of shouting pirates, all of whom were drunk. He pushed his way to the bar, and ordered a drink. He stood, leaning on the bar, watching the drunken madness around him. He was given his drink and he stood watching everyone, sipping on the ale he had ordered. It was sweet and foamy; just how he liked it.

He downed the rest of his ale and left the bar, strolling down the road to his house. It wasn't far from the bar and he took his time walking down the cobbled streets. He heard the laughs and shouts of the men and women who were drinking in the other bars, and would probably still be drinking into the small hours of the morning.

Graves smiled as he walked home. It was the first sober conversation he had had with Miss Fortune, and though it was a bit embarrassing, he didn't care. Graves hadn't realised he liked Miss Fortune until the match, but his sudden infatuation made him happy.

Graves got home long after the moon had come up and the stars had filled the sky. Graves stripped down to his boxers and crawled into his bed. The fatigue from battle of the day came over him all at once and he fell asleep with a smile on his face.


	3. Chapter 3

Miss Fortune sat across from Caitlyn. The small ornate table placed between them was covered in cake wrappers, crumbs and spilled coffee. The small coffee shop they sat in was quiet, with only a few other people other than them; most were students, and were studying - or they were trying to, at least. Miss Fortune got up, and walked over to the counter and ordered two cake slices, another coffee and a cup of tea. She carried the tray back over to her table and set it down on top of the other two trays that were perched on the edge of the table. Caitlyn reached for one of the cake slices, but Miss Fortune swatted her hand away.

"Excuse me, officer, but these are mine," she joked. "The doughnuts are yours." Miss Fortune pointed across the café to the case which held the cakes. Both women laughed.

Caitlyn liked it when Sarah came to visit her. It got quite lonely in Piltover, and though Vi was good company, she was almost never in the office, and usually went out drinking. Jayce was good fun too, but he was too serious for Caitlyn; he didn't know how to have fun or take a joke. If Darius lived closer to her, then of course, Caitlyn would visit him almost every day. But Noxus was such a trek from Piltover; it was hard for the two to see each other, but they made it work.

Sarah Fortune was glad to be with Caitlyn. She was her best friend, and the two spent almost every waking moment with each other. She placed her coffee, the two cakes and Caitlyn's tea on the table, cleared up their previous mess and took the trays back to the counter. The woman who was working gave her a funny look when she took them over, and scoffed when she saw Sarah's guns. She didn't let it bother her though; everyone in Piltover did it.

She sat back down at her table, and saw that Caitlyn had demolished half of her cake. Sarah raised her eyebrow and stared at Caitlyn, disapprovingly. Caitlyn looked at Miss Fortune.

"What?" Her mouth was full of cake, and her question came out as a mumble.

Sarah sniggered and almost knocked her coffee off the table.

"You're such a dipshit, Caitlyn," she said, smiling.

Caitlyn laughed, a cloud of crumbs flying out of her mouth and all over the table. Miss Fortune laughed even more.

Caitlyn cleaned her face up, and looked at Miss Fortune. She still wore a smile, but she wore a serious look on her face.

"What is it?" Sarah said. She was worried now. For the whole morning the two had been laughing and eating cake. "What?" She looked sternly at Caitlyn. "Caitlyn, what is it. Tell me."

Caitlyn sat still, her face unchanging. She knew it was annoying Sarah, and she waited as long as she possibly could before saying anything.

"Malcolm likes you, Sarah."

Miss Fortune stopped talking, and stared at Caitlyn. Her eyebrows were raised, and her eyes looked straight through Caitlyn. She sat astonished for a moment. Graves…liked her? What? She sat processing the information; it was a lot to take in, especially after what had happened a few weeks earlier, when they had bumped into Graves in that alley.

"Sarah…?"

Miss Fortune snapped back into reality. She shook her head and cleared it of all the thoughts that occupied it.

"You're messing with me," she said. She didn't believe it, wouldn't believe it. No one liked her. People in Bilgewater pretended to, but she knew they were scared of her. She was too fierce, and had a fiery temper. She was too intimidating for people. "I don't believe you." Sarah sat back and crossed her arms.

"It's true, Sarah," Caitlyn replied.

"Oh, and did Graves tell you that himself, did he?" she was mocking Caitlyn. Sarah was annoyed. How could Caitlyn play her like that? It's not funny, messing with people's feelings. She reached forward and grabbed her coffee. She leaned back and sipped the bitter liquid.

"Sarah, he didn't have to tell me." Caitlyn reached her hand across the table. "I can see it in his eyes, in the way he looks at you. He really likes you, like, really, really likes you. I see it in the way he looks at you, the way he talks to you; everything he does with you is the same. Even the fact that he comes and helps you during matches; was it not obvious to you?"

At that moment, Darius walked into the café. Both women turned to look at him. He smiled awkwardly and waved. The few other people who were in the café, had already packed away their textbooks and notepads, and were already heading towards the door, leaving the three of them alone in the café. Caitlyn signalled something to him and he walked over to the counter and got himself a drink before sitting at a different table.

Miss Fortune had her hands on the table now. She had finished her drink, and set the mug on the table, rather carelessly. Caitlyn reached across the table and set her hand on top of Sarah's.

"Sarah, I wouldn't lie to you about something like this." Her eyes were wide, and wore a kind expression. Sarah knew she was only trying to help, and the worry in her eyes made it clear. "I see it every day. It was like that with Darius and me, too. I just didn't see it before. You know the way he would act when there were enemies close to me when I had low health, and the way he generally acted when he was around me? It was different to when he was with other people."

Caitlyn trailed off and looked over at Darius, who was sitting holding a mug, presumably filled with coffee. He wasn't looking at anything, just staring into the mug. Caitlyn smiled, and turned back to Miss Fortune. She squeezed her hand.

"Trust me, Sarah. He likes you."

Miss Fortune sat still, staring past Caitlyn and out the window. She looked at Caitlyn, and saw in her eyes that she was telling the truth. She sighed and looked at her lap. Sarah looked back up at Caitlyn, and leaned towards her. She smiled.

"Okay, Caitlyn," she said.

Caitlyn smiled back at her, and let out a small laugh.

"Hey, I have to run, but I'll see you back at the house, yeah?" Caitlyn said. "I'm gonna do some stuff with Darius before he has to leave."

Caitlyn stood up and smoothed down her dress. Darius looked over at her, and knew it was time for them to go. He stood up and walked outside. Miss Fortune stood up, and went to hug Caitlyn. They squeezed each other, before letting go. Caitlyn headed out the door and took Darius' arm. She turned back to Miss Fortune and waved before she and Darius headed down the street. Miss Fortune watched them as they walked until they turned a corner, and headed out of sight.

Miss Fortune stayed in the café for a while longer. She threw a few coins on the table before she got up and left. It was around 6pm and the sun was starting to set. The streets of Piltover were shadowed with golden light from the sun. Sarah breathed in the crisp autumn air and smiled; the smell of the leaves had made her feel calm ever since her mother had been murdered, though she never knew why.

Sarah headed off down a small cobbled alley. She wanted to get to the beach, but she was unable to see it from all the skyscrapers; it didn't matter though, as her nose soon picked up the salty smell of the sea. Sarah headed towards the beach, thinking about what Caitlyn had said to her. She strolled down a labyrinth of cobbled streets until the skyscrapers stopped and the familiar smell of salt water and fish filled her nose.

Miss Fortune almost sprinted down to the water's edge, a huge smile on her face, throwing her boots and socks off on the way down. She stopped right at the edge of the waves and rolled her trousers up to her knees. Sarah stepped further into the water, and let the icy cold liquid freeze her feet. She began to dance around in the water, and though she might have looked crazy, drunk, or even both, she didn't care. Though what Sarah didn't account for, was a huge wave that came crashing over her, knocking her over onto her stomach. The wave threw her hat off into the water and Sarah scrambled to get it back. She grabbed her soggy hat and stomped back to the street that lined the boardwalk. Sarah looked for a sunny patch where she could dry off and threw her hat onto the cobble and sat, soaking wet, with her face in her hands. She sighed.

"What if he does like me?" she said aloud. She threw her arms up into the air, emphasising her point to no one in particular.

"Pfft! There's no way that he likes me," she scoffed. She looked down to the sand then. "Nobody likes me."

Sarah closed her eyes, though she wouldn't allow herself to cry; she hadn't cried in twelve years, and she wasn't going to start now.

Sarah felt something tap her shoulder, and looked round, to see a little boy standing next to her; he must have been around 7 or 8 years old. She looked at him, and he looked at her. Neither said a word. Miss Fortune couldn't understand why he was there. After a few more seconds of intense staring, the little boy sat down next to her, and looked up to her.

"I like you," he said. His big round eyes were the colour of the ocean, and were so innocent that Miss Fortune didn't know whether to be mad that he had been listening to her talk to herself or be worried that he was out alone. She looked into his eyes, shocked. She shook her head and looked back down to the sand.

"No you don't," she said. "You're only saying that because you heard me say that no-one liked me. You don't even know me."

"Yes I do!" the boy shouted as he jumped up to his feet. "You're Miss Fortune! You're the best bounty hunter in Valoran, in the whole of Runeterra!" The boy swung his arms in a big circle above his head, to emphasise his point. Miss Fortune smiled at him. The children in Bilgewater were energetic, but none were as interested in anything as this boy was.

He sat back down next to her and put his hand on hers.

"When I grow up, I want to be just like you," he said, smiling.

"Thanks, kid," Sarah replied, ruffling his hair.

The boy scrunched up his face and laughed. All of a sudden, a woman came running out of a shop on the boardwalk looking frantic. Miss Fortune and the boy looked over at her.

"Damian! Where did you go?!" the woman yelled; Miss Fortune assumed she was the boy's mother.

"I'm here, Mama," she shouted back. He sprung to his feet and ran over to her, turning back to wave to Sarah. She lifted her hand and waved back. The woman grabbed the boy by the arm and pulled him back into the shop, looking at Miss Fortune nervously.

Miss Fortune dismissed the look, and turned back to the sea. She sat for another hour or so, thinking about what the boy had said to her, until there were no sunny patches left on the coast to dry her off. Though she was still damp, she decided to head back to Caitlyn's apartment.

Sarah strolled through the now empty streets of Piltover; she was in no hurry to get back to Caitlyn's – she suspected Darius would be there, and didn't want to be a third wheel.

Whilst walking through the deserted streets, Miss Fortune picked up the smell of a fast food place. The smell made her stomach grumble, and she realised that she hadn't eaten since lunch. He headed off in the direction she thought it was coming from, and found a small burger joint in a side street. She went in and ordered five hamburgers (all of which came with fries), two milkshakes, and three extra orders of fries, as well as two sides of onion rings and two sundaes.

Sarah left the restaurant with her arms full of food. She scoffed one burger in three bites and decided to save the rest until she got back to Caitlyn's. Sarah practically ran back to Caitlyn's, so the journey only took around twenty minutes. Caitlyn's elevator was still broken, so Miss Fortune had to use the stairs – not that she minded though, she liked to exercise, even though she ate like a pig. She got to Caitlyn's apartment and burst through the door.

"I have returned!" Sarah yelled. Caitlyn looked around from her show and laughed at Sarah.

"What were you doing all day?" she asked. "Dude, you're soaked what happened? Get in the shower, holy Christ, Sarah, you'll get hypothermia or some shit like that."

Sarah laughed and kicked the front door shut. She headed towards the breakfast bar, and dumped the bags of food she was carrying onto it. She turned to Caitlyn and pointed at her.

"If you eat my onion rings, I'm gonna kill you," she threatened. Though Caitlyn knew it was a joke, she left the onion rings.

Sarah headed through to her room, where she grabbed a t-shirt and a pair of shorts from her bag and headed into the en suite. She turned the shower on and undressed. Stepping into the shower, Sarah thought about all the things that had happened that day; Caitlyn telling her that Graves liked her, the little boy telling her that he liked her and saying he wanted to be like her when he grew up. Everything was bothering her, but she knew what she had to do.

Sarah rinsed the conditioner out of her hair, and stepped out of the shower. She wrapped herself in a fluffy lavender towel.

"Why is Caitlyn so obsessed with lavender?" she said to herself. Sarah shook her head and began drying herself off. She wrapped her hair up in the towel, dressed herself and looked at herself in the mirror. As she headed back out to the living room to where Caitlyn was probably stuffing her face with fries, Sarah came up with a plan – she would talk with Graves about it, that's the only way she would find out the truth. By the time she had got sat down on the sofa, her mind had been made up, and there was no changing it.


	4. Chapter 4

Graves woke the next day feeling refreshed and full of energy. He didn't know why, considering the ale he had been drinking the night before was the strongest one the bar offered, and it could easily get a man drunk from only half the tankard.

Graves had nothing planned for the day, so he sat for a while at his window, watching the sun rise. The slow movement of the sun, and the wild splash of colour made Graves feel calm, though he wasn't sure why. Maybe it was because he was always reminded of Miss Fortune whenever the sun was out. He didn't ponder on the subject for too long as he dozed off, thinking about Miss Fortune.

Graves was only out for a few minutes, but he woke with a start. He was dreaming about Miss Fortune and how beautiful she was; her amazing curves, her fiery hair and matching temper. There was something about her temper that turned Graves on, though he couldn't pin point the feeling. The way she got mad at the smallest thing, and how she didn't think twice about killing you if you were to get on her bad side or pissed her off. Graves shuddered at the feeling and smiled. He felt strange and looked down at his crotch to see that he had given himself a boner.

He scowled to himself and tried to make it go away, though nothing he tried worked. He grumbled something about how he needed to time this type of thing better. Graves headed to the bathroom, where he stripped down and jumped in the shower. He immediately scolded himself, not knowing whether he'd be summoned for a match - he had heard stories of that happening to other champions and feared the embarrassment. Graves showered angrily, though he managed to rid himself of his erection, which made him a little better; at least he wouldn't have to walk around town awkwardly hiding it, though he was still mad at himself.

Graves often got mad at himself for the dumbest things, like leaving the dishes in the sink for too long, or not buying enough milk for his coffee and needing to leave the house without his morning Joe. He embarrassed himself with his anger because he mostly got mad at things he shouldn't be mad at, though he still got mad.

None of that mattered, though, because today was the day he was going to ask Miss Fortune out. Graves had a whole list of stuff that he was planning to get for his date. It seemed a bit silly, considering he hadn't even asked her yet, but Graves felt that being prepared was better than being the guy who did everything last minute.

He had the night all planned out; he had to pick up his suit from the dry cleaners first of all. He also needed to get flowers for Miss Fortune, and some more champagne. Graves spent the morning writing a list of all the things he thought he'd need. He had considered taking her to a restaurant, but going for a picnic on his secret island would be more romantic he thought; besides, Sarah didn't need to go to a fancy restaurant. She probably didn't like them.

By 11am, Graves had made a list of his supplies, and got dressed to go out. He hadn't done his laundry, which hacked him off a bit, and he wrote down detergent on his list. He was confident about the day, and didn't let his dirty laundry bother him. He threw on a white t-shirt and a pair of jeans and squeezed into his boots. He looked at himself in the bathroom mirror; the t-shirt had a tighter fit than he had remembered, and his hair was a mess – he needed to shave, too. Graves sighed and added shaving cream to his list.

Graves headed out into the crisp morning; the autumn air bit at his large, muscled arms, but he wasn't bothered by it – he didn't even notice that it was that cold until people started to ask him if he was crazy, being out in the cold wearing that. He noticed that a couple of the snooty girls who hung around on the main street were eyeing him up and checking him out. He could see them all whispering and giggling to each other, presumably about him. Graves ignored them and continued down the main street. He passed the gun store, and realised he would probably need more bullets; he usually just ordered them to his house, but since he was out he decided to pop in and get them himself.

Graves pushed the tattered wooden door open, and a small bell rung as he stepped inside. He looked around the dusty store; it had fallen out of shape since he had last been in here. He walked over to the wooden counter and looked over the edge. He looked around and saw no one. There was a small bell on the counter, and so he tapped it twice. When no one answered after a few seconds, he tapped it once more, and, when no one came, began browsing the store.

There were guns on display that he hadn't seen before – they must have been new in recently. He also saw guns that looked identical to Miss Fortune's. He strolled over to the display and saw that they were, in fact, not the same, rather they were a similar make to Miss Fortune's own, but Miss Fortunes were smaller, and had more detail on them. These guns were quite large and old, and their paint needed touching up.

Graves looked at the price, turned right on his heel and started to the other side of the store. It had been a while in this store, it's true, but he hadn't seen anything that expensive in here before. Graves looked around for a while longer before going back over to the counter and ringing the bell again. He stood, leaning on the counter trying to get a look in the back room. He let out an exasperated sigh.

"Hello?!" he called. "Is anyone there?"

Graves hoped his cries would alert the owner, though he didn't expect anyone to come running. Almost out of nowhere, a small boy, about 8 or 9 years old, came running from the back room and to the counter. He jumped up onto a stool so he was at eye level with Graves.

"Hello, Mister," he said. His accent was strong, and the lad reminded Graves of Caitlyn a little. "Sorry about your wait, we didn't hear you ringing the bell, Sir."

The boy's politeness confused Graves a bit, though after a minute or two of examining the boy's face he knew exactly who he was speaking to.

"It's alright lad," he said. The boy looked at Graves, and Graves could see that he recognised him. "Can I speak to the owner please? I need to pick something up."

The boy nodded and hopped off his stool. He skipped over to the doorway and screamed through it, calling the owner through.

"BURT! There's a man here to see you!" he yelled. "He says he needs to pick something up!"

Graves looked at the boy astonished, though he wasn't fazed by his loud voice. It was a normal thing for people to shout each other to the shop front, rather than going and getting them. He came back to the counter, hopped onto his stool and looked at Graves. He was squinting his eyes, and Graves was confused as to what he was actually doing. Graves had noticed that the boy was holding his breath, his cheeks blushing red. Eventually he let the breath go and slammed his palm onto the desk.

"Ugh! I give up," he cried, throwing his hands dramatically into the air. Graves was confused.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"I'm trying to figure out who you are," said the boy. "I don't know your name, but I do, and I just can't find it in my brain, and I recognise your face, and I know that the guy who owns this place knows you, because otherwise, you wouldn't be in here picking something up because hardly anyone who doesn't know him comes in here anymore because he keeps making everything too expensive for people to buy, and so only the rich people come in and that's hardly ever because they're always away overseas doing something else." The boy took a deep breath. He had sped through his speech was now panting softly. Graves was impressed; he had never seen or heard a child speak so quickly before, and guessed that the boy had decent lungs.

"My name is Malcolm Graves," he said, extending his arm to the kid. "I used to help Burt in this shop when I was younger. He made me my very own gun, you know."

The boy's eyes widened in astonishment, and his mouth was gaping. He took Graves' hand in both of his and shook it wildly

"You mean you're really…?" He was clearly lost for words. "Wow! Oh it's such a pleasure to meet you, sir. I've heard many amazing stories about you. Someday, I want to join the League of Legends, just like you sir!"

The boy's face turned from that of astonishment to excitement. "Did you ever kill anyone with it?" he asked, his small hands still gripping Graves' own.

Before Graves could answer, Burt came through the door and shooed the boy away from the counter. He let go of Graves' hand, smiled and jumped off the counter.

"Go on," he said. "Get back to work."

The man had clambered up onto the stool. He was short; almost a dwarf. He had a grey, bushy beard, and his hair was the colour of ash. The little man also wore glasses and had a strange green scarf tied around his forehead like a bandana. His skin was white, and he had a lot of bruises on his arms.

"Malcolm, my dear friend!" the man said, reaching out to grab Graves' arm. "How are you? What brings you in today? You haven't been here in ten years!"

"Hey, Burt. How are you doing?" Malcolm smiled at the old man – they had been friends for many years, though Graves had not been to visit him often since he left. He felt bad for not coming to see the old man more often, and made a mental note to do so.

"I'm very well, my boy, very well. What can I do for you today? You hardly ever come in store these days, did something happen with your gun? I can fix it for you, on the house." Burt smiled at Graves and he couldn't help but laugh. Burt was so innocent.

"No, no, Burt, it's alright, nothing is broken or damaged – in fact, she's in better shape than she's ever been. I just came by to pick up some more ammo."

"Don't you want it delivered, like usual?" Burt asked. He tilted his head slightly and looked at Graves.

Graves shrugged. "Well I thought since I was down here anyways I might as well pick it up. Save you the trouble of sending your boy with it."

"Oh, you're too kind, Malcolm, you really are. Just wait here and I'll run and get it for you."

Burt scurried off back into the workshop and into the store room. Graves leant on the counter as he waited for his Burt to come back. He turned to look out the window, and saw the group of women from earlier. They were watching him through the window and giggling at each other. Graves groaned and turned back to the counter. He suspected they would begin to follow him around, and he would have to tell them to beat it. He could feel their eyes burning through the back of him, and he began to grow uncomfortable.

Burt came scurrying through the door carrying two large boxes in his arms. They were so big that Graves couldn't see the whole of Burt's top half; the only visible part being his feet. Graves grabbed the top box and put it on the counter for Burt. Burt placed the second box on the counter and began ringing up the order. Graves kept looking behind him, hoping the women had gotten bored and left, but they were still outside. Burt saw the women looking at Graves and raised an eyebrow at him.

"Looks like you have some admirers, Malcolm," Burt said. Graves groaned.

"Yeah, I guess, but I don't want them to admire me. That's all the really snooty girls from up the high street who think they're too good to come down here. They're so annoying. I hate them all so much; acting like they actually like me when any other day they would have ignored me. They've been following me around all morning, it's irritating."

"Of course," Burt said. His eyes were closed and he was nodding his head. He opened his eyes and looked Graves straight in the eye. "And you have your eye on someone else."

Graves turned his head around to look at the old man. He raised an eyebrow at him. How did he know? Graves certainly hadn't told anyone; unless Caitlyn had been blabbing about stuff, which he doubted.

"But how do you know that?" he asked.

"I can see it in your eyes, dear boy!" Burt replied, throwing his arms into the air. "I am unsure of the lucky lady herself, it's true, but I know that there is a special person you like, and you want to ask her out. Though truthfully, you're scared."

Graves looked at Burt, astonished. "I'm not scared, Burt!" he said.

"Nonsense!" was the reply. "you've always had a problem with asking girls out. I should know, I've known you long enough." Burt pointed at Graves, waving his finger at him as he spoke.

Graves looked at the wise old man standing in front of him, his deep blue eyes, concentrating on Graves, full of wisdom, and he knew the old man was right. Burt finished processing the order and Graves handed over the money. He always gave more than he should, because he felt bad for Burt and the boy. Graves hoisted the boxes into his arms and left the store, shouting his goodbyes to Burt. Graves stepped out of the store into the street. The group of girls were still standing outside the store, but they were no longer trying to be discreet. The minute Graves started down the street they followed, always a few feet behind him.

Their unwanted presence made Graves feel uncomfortable. He kept looking behind him through the corners of his eyes, though he didn't need to check that they were still there. Their annoying giggles and their loud shoes assured him that they were still there.

They followed him around for the whole day. They followed him through the market, through the grocery store. They had even followed him into the bar where Miss Fortune went to drink almost every day. She wasn't there, of course, but Graves had hoped she would be. Considering the notoriety of the bar, Graves had hoped that the women wouldn't follow him in, but he was disappointed. The bar was known for being dangerous and shady. It was where most bar fights happened in the first place, with angry drunk seamen and drunken souls getting caught up together. There were almost always at least three brawls that happened at the bar. Graves ordered himself some ale and perched himself on one of the bar stools. It was only 3 o'clock in the afternoon, and there were already drunk men laughing in the booth in the far corner.

The women looked uncomfortable as they sat down in a booth, but they waited until Graves had finished his drink and left a few seconds behind him. They continued to follow Graves, and he continued to grow ever more irritated by their presence that he finally snapped. He spun round to face all of them and scowled at them.

"Can I help you, ladies?" he said sarcastically. He brought his hand to his face and pinched the bridge of his nose. The look on the women's faces would have made Graves laugh any other day, but he was mad as hell and wasn't in the mood for jokes.

"Gosh, I'm so sorry. We're only trying to get home," one woman started explaining. Graves heard her voice crack mid-sentence and he knew that she would start crying. Graves brought his free hand to his face again and rubbed his eyes with his thumb and index finger pulling his hand down the side of his face; he really wasn't in the mood for this and he should have just walked away. If it were any other day, Graves might have felt bad for her, and would have considered apologising, but he knew what she was trying to do, and he was already irritated because the market didn't have any bacon left and Graves sure as hell wasn't going to let her manipulate him with her bullshit crying. "But its dark and it's scary and there are a lot of drunk men around this area that could do anything to girls like us and…" but she didn't get to finish her sentence because she had started crying. The other women crowed around her, comforting her, pretending that she really cared about what she was talking about. Graves rolled his eyes.

"Oh my goodness, dear Maybelle are you alright? It's okay dear." One of Maybelle's friend's was trying to make more of a scene. She pulled the girl into her arms and hugged her, whilst the girl started sobbing uncontrollably.

"Oh my gods, you're either really thick, or trying to get punched," Graves said. "There are literally no bars here and nobody is around except me and you lot." He glanced at his watch. "And it's only half-six. Bitch, you can literally still see the sun." Graves pointed to the sky, where the top of the sun was still visible over the old buildings.

The girl, Maybelle, had stopped crying, and all women were staring at Graves, wearing an angry scowl on each of their faces.

"Don't look at me like that," he said, getting angry. "You know fine well that it's still early and that there's nothing here." Graves started towards them, but Maybelle stood in his way.

"You think you're too good for anyone in this small town, don't you? Fighting in the League, you're no better than any of us-"

Graves covered her face with his hand, cutting her off. "Lady, do yourself a favour and get out of my face."

The woman started pushing Graves' hand off her face and was about to start yelling, when a voice called out from the shadows.

"You heard him, ladies. Get out of here. Scram."

It was clear that this hadn't come from Graves' mouth; this voice was smooth and manipulative. It was cold, steady and oddly sexy, and the delivery sent shivers down Graves' back. He knew that she could have a cold heart when she needed it, but her voice warmed his own in a strange way. He turned to look behind him, and saw the only person he had wanted to see since the day started.

Her red hair shone in the light of the falling sun, and her curves seemed more defined in the dimming light. Graves' breath was taken away by her beauty. He had to stop thinking about her in that way or he feared he would embarrass himself by popping another boner in front of everyone, and so avoided making eye-contact with her.

Graves also tried to not look surprised by her sudden appearance, but felt that the look was already plastered to his face.

The group of women looked at Miss Fortune in jealousy and fear. They didn't know what she was doing there, and Graves didn't know either, but he was glad that she was there.

"Sarah," Maybelle said. She tried to be confident but her voice shook. Her aggressive facade was weak and Graves knew that Miss Fortune could see right through it.

"Please, don't call me that," Miss Fortune's replied calmly. She wasn't looking at Maybelle, but rather she was reaching down into her pocket, though Graves noticed that she had moved her right hand from her side to behind her back.

"Oh." She looked behind her, and chuckled with her friends. "What are you going to do about it if I do, _Sarah_?" Maybelle spat at Miss Fortune, the name sliding off of her tongue in the saltiest way Graves had ever heard.

Miss Fortune didn't move. She still had her hand in her pocket, but she had now lifted her head to look at the group. Strands of hair fluttered around her head in the soft breeze, and Graves had noticed that it grew noticeably colder.

Miss Fortune, closed her eyes and sighed, a sly grin curling on her lips. Graves took a step back. He wasn't sure of what she was about to do, but he didn't want to get caught in the crossfire.

"Maybelle," she started, opening her eyes, the grin still on her lips. "What part of 'don't call me that' don't you understand?!"

Miss Fortune had moved so swiftly that Graves had no time to intervene and stop her. In one swift motion, Miss Fortune tumbled forwards and stood two feet in front of Maybelle; the girl's golden locks scrunched in her hand, her head pulled back. Miss Fortune had pulled her pistol from its holster and had it pressed under Maybelle's jaw. Miss Fortune aggressively whispered the last few words right into the girl'sear. Sarah was breathing lightly, and Graves imagined that having so much skill took its toll on the body. Maybelle had started crying for real now, her makeup running down her face in black streams down her cheeks; she was clearly scared for her life. Graves felt that he should step in and stop whatever Miss Fortune was doing, but he was impressed and admittedly a little scared, but didn't feel any obligation to step in, though he knew he probably should. He put his stuff on the ground. He stepped forward, towards Miss Fortune.

"Hey, come on now," he said, gently taking hold of her wrists and looked at her. She was looking at the girl she still held. Graves squeezed her arms slightly and she looked to him. Their eyes met and he felt her arms going limp in his grip. "Come on; you don't need to waste your time _or_ your bullets on these chumps."

Miss Fortune slowly moved the gun away from the girls head and loosened her grip on her hair. Maybelle scrambled away back to her group, who helped her on her feet. Graves tried to pull the gun from her hand but Miss Fortune had thrown her arm out and pointed her pistol to the group.

"Don't bother me or my friend again," she snarled. "Or next time, he wont be here to save you." She removed her arm from his grasp and pointed behind her towards Graves.

The group of women didn't have to think twice before hurrying down the street, away from Miss Fortune and Graves. He looked down to her and saw that she was looking down the street at the women running away; her arm followed their movements.

Graves took hold of her wrists again, stopping her movement; her skin was soft and smooth and felt strange in his large calloused hand. Graves squeezed her arm again and pulled it to her side. She turned to look at him, meeting his gaze. Her eyes were the colour of the ocean, and sparkled like stars.

"Why did you do that?" she whispered. Graves noticed that her mouth was open slightly. He thought it made her look vulnerable and even more adorable than ever. "I can handle myself." She sounded irritated but the look in her face betrayed her. She began to wriggle her arm to loosen his grip, but he held on tighter.

"Because I had to," he replied, gentle but firm. He lifted his hand to push back a stray hair from her face. "You would've killed her, and maybe even the rest of them. Don't look at me like that - I know you would have if I wasn't here. Who would be here to keep everyone in their place if you were to be caught?"

Miss Fortune looked at the ground, her long eyelashes fluttering in the breeze, and sighed. She looked back up at Graves. He was still holding onto her wrist, but he had pulled her closer to him; he noticed she had goose-bumps on her arms. Miss Fortune and Graves looked at each other for a moment, both waiting for the other to make a decision.

Standing there together, the sun slipping behind the horizon, Graves was at peace. He had never felt so tranquil, and savoured the moment, fearing that if he let her go, it would be lost forever. The way she looked at him, her eyes wide, glistening in the golden light, gave Graves hope that she felt the same way as he did.

Just as Graves loosened his grip on her, Miss Fortune pulled his face towards hers with her free hand, pressing her lips against his. Her lips were soft and tasted like cherry. Graves was startled for merely a second, before his eyes closed and he fell into pure bliss. He placed his hand on Miss Fortune's waist and pulled her closer to him. The pair stood together in the dim light of the moon, entwined in each other.

After a few moments, Miss Fortune pulled away, and looked into Graves' eyes before looking to the ground.

"I, uh…" she stammered. She let a sheepish laugh escape her lips. "I'm so sorry, Malcolm. I-I don't know what came over me." She looked up to him and saw him smiling at her.

"I mean, I would usually ask them out for dinner first," he joked. "But I liked it, I did like it, like you, Sarah, I like you. I like you." He struggled to get the sentence from his brain out of his mouth. He felt his cheeks grow hot.

Miss Fortune smiled. "I like you too, Graves. Like, like-like, not like as a friend. I mean, I do like you as a friend, I didn't mean that I don't like you as a friend, because I do, I really do, but I also like you as more than a friend, and I want us to be more than friends." Miss Fortune was getting flustered, and her words were jumbled around in her head. Graves moved his hand from her wrist and clasped her hand in his.

"It's okay. I get what you mean."

"So, dinner first, right?"

"If you want to," Graves said. "What about tomorrow at 7?"

Miss Fortune nodded her head, her hair bobbing along with the movement. She squeaked an agreement to Graves, looked at him and smiled.

"You can pick the restaurant," she said. "I'll pick you up." She smirked at her joke.

She stood on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. She slid her hand out of his and waved goodbye before heading off down the street. Graves watched her go until she had slipped away into the shadows. He gathered his things and headed home wearing stupid grin on his face; he finally got a date with the girl of his dreams.


End file.
